Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 01 September 2010

The slow pace of cleaning up South Africa’s abandoned mines is leading to an ecological and environmental disaster, MPs on the Standing Committee on Public Account (Scopa) said on Wednesday.

AMD with a pH of 2.6 flows directly into the hippodam in the Krugersdorp Game Reserve

MPs launched a scathing attack on the department of mineral resources’ mine rehabilitation programme. ANC MP Roy Ainslie said the department’s plan to rehabilitate the polluting mines was “virtually non-existent”.

“It seems it was put together yesterday because it was anticipated we would ask about an implementation plan,” he said. “It implements structures, it talks about policy, but there is no action plan.”

Ainslie said according to his calculations, cleaning up South Africa’s 5 906 abandoned mines would take around 3 000 years if the programme continued at its current rate.

“You rehabilitated five mines in three years. That is 1.5 mines a year, but let’s give you the benefit of the doubt and say you’ve rehabilitated two mines a year. We have 5 906 abandoned mines. Two into 5 906 goes 2 953 years. My question is by when do you plan to have rehabilitated these 5 906 abandoned mines?”

Inkatha Freedom Party MP Narend Singh said the slow pace of the cleanup was leading SA to an “ecological and environmental disaster”. “By that time we will have sink holes, we’ll have contaminated water. It will be an ecological and environmental disaster.

“It is just not on for us to be hearing here that we have a serious problem in this country with abandoned mines and it is going to take that long to recover.” Continue reading Slow pace of abandoned mine clean up leads to environmental disaster